the sudden death

Our favorite place in Brussels

 Only in the screwy town of Brussels can a joint called The Sudden Death be charming. Of course, in French it sounds more delightful: A La Mort Subite.  According to their website the ominous name of this bar comes from the last throw in a dice game played by customers who spent their lunch break there. The loser was labeled the sudden death. When the owner of the tavern opened the current place in 1928 he named it A La Mort Subite. But, this warm, inviting, traditional Belgian brasserie, located near the Grand Place and just across the street from the glass covered Galarie du Roi, a destination in itself, with it's long wooden tables and Art Nouveau decor is charming and offers an array of Lambics and Gueuze as well as kriek (or cherry) and pêche (or peach) flavored lambics. That's just the house beers, or the Mort Subite line. They also offer a good selection of Belgian, Trappists and Abbey beers, some on tap. The waiters are dressed in a traditional vest and were helpful with questions over the beers. (They told us playfully we could not steal the Mort Subite glass my Gueuze sur lie came in.) The entire experience was pleasant, especially when compared with the commotion that was the Cafe Delirium. At A la Mort Subite we felt like we had stepped back in time 100 years. We lingered over a few beers there and then returned the next day Sunday to sit at one of the outdoor tables before we had to catch our flight to Liverpool later that evening.  http://alamortsubite.com/ 

we did not try to steal these glasses



Galarie du Roi

That was the extent of our

abbreviated 11/2 day beer stay in Brussels. We spent the remainder of Saturday evening walking through the Grand Place and Galarie du Roi. These two heavily touristed destinations were beautiful. Dodging elbows at both we marveled at the ornate Guild houses, the Hotel de Ville and the Maison du Roi of the Grand Place, some of the buildings dating back to the 1600's and we oohed over the chocolatiers that filled every other shop window in the Galarie. I was surprised to learn this Galarie du Roi is older than the Galleria in Milan, Italy. Both are glass covered shopping arcades. At one shop we purchased confections to munch on as we strolled. Typical of us old folk we retired early to our fancy hotel.

The VFH team

I awakened several times during the night to the revelry on the streets of this city. Shouts and hoots kept going until 6 am and as I struggled to sleep I resolved to drink more beer the next I visited Brussels just so I could be knocked out.

Sunday, was not a beer day. Apart from our final visit to A la Mort Subite our day was disappointing. We had other beer joints on the official VFH Brussels Beer map, but sadly they were not open. One place that looked particularly inviting was Le Bier Circus, but it was shuttered. We pressed our faces against the glass hoping to make eye contact with someone, but to no avail. We gave another place, Le Cerceuil, the Coffin, a wide berth. Evidently it has glass topped coffins for tables and skull shaped mugs for the beer, but we had enough edgy fun in Brussels. Instead, we strolled through the Parc de Bruxelles and sat for awhile to listen to a Jazz band play in a Belle Epoque styled gazebo. It was free. We got some Greek takeaway food for a light lunch and strolled through the Grand Place once more before packing up our bags and heading out to the airport via the train system. We had asked the hotel for a late check out and they obliged us for an extra hour.

I know this is very late. Hope you're still reading though!